Today we have a Seat Leon Cupra for a review, the hot version of the most common Seat Leon. Three hundred HP, Monte Morello (a mountain near Florence) and a sunny day of mid-October: an Italian-Spanish mix that can only bring you so much fun.
The aesthetic differences between the Seat Leon Cupra and the traditional are visible, and they make it clear from now on what car we are dealing with. The appearance is much more aggressive, almost “rough” I say, thanks to the wheel arches slightly enlarged compared to the standard version. All this to make space for larger tires on beautiful 19-inch wheels with red-painted brake calipers.
The interiors follow the same exterior style, showing sportiness everywhere you turn your head. The details are many, starting with the Cupra logo placed on the gear selector, on the steering wheel, and even on the button to select the driving mode. The seats, option in this case, are the Alcantara Bucket with integrated lumbar support, somewhat uncomfortable in long journeys, but in the spirit of the car as they allow you to savour the sensations that it is capable of transmitting.
The infotainment system is the top offering Seat on its Leon, always fast and equipped with all the latest technologies such as CarPlay and Android Auto. On the average, instead, the sound quality, but it is forgiven thanks to a very aggressive engine sound.
On the test car is also available, as optional, the Full LED headlamp system with automatic high beam. It provides optimal illumination in all conditions.
Taking into account the costs to keep it and fuel consumption, such a car is bought for the sensations it is capable of transmitting on the road, and therefore it can not be practical either. The Seat Leon Cupra is powered by the 2.0 TSI delivering 300 hp, capable of offering 380nm of torque at just 1800 rpm. All this power and torque for a front wheel drive seem so much (and in fact for other cars it is…), but in reality if it is well managed, it does not penalize, thanks to the lsd.
Well, for now we’ve talked about this car statically, it’s time to drive through these beautiful roads in the mountains above Sesto Fiorentino.
As soon as I’m in the car I see this big red button blinking with a “Start Engine” and I can not resist pushing it, the engine comes to life and an aggressive sound goes into the passenger compartment, a great prelude to what this car can do.
For the curves of Monte Morello we are able to appreciate the great work done by Seat on this car. We see how important it is to have a self-locking differential on such a car. Also worthy of the lower setting with the 19’ wheels the car is glued to the asphalt, it allows to drive sharpen trajectories in a precise way. The gearbox is the 6-seated DSG Volkswagen Group. Always ready with lightning gear changes.
The fun it offers is so much, but it is also a car capable of being in some “rational” behaviour. In these two weeks of test drive I used it almost every day and in contrast to what I was expecting, I did not detect defects as excessive stiffness or discomfort, even if put in Comfort mode, it is very good to absorb the hardness. The only flaw? Consumption: With normal driving I could not exceed 11km / l on the mix and 13km / l on the highway at 110 but you can not expect much from this point of view!
Concluding, we can certainly say that Seat Leon Cupra, with a price of around € 40,000 (including accessories) offers so much fun at a fair price compared to its competitors. If you do not care much on fuel consumption, it can be safely used as a main car for daily travel.
Text: Federico Schipani
Photo: Edoardo Mascalchi
Bonus images:
